GoKawiilUber and Waymo have parted ways in the major US market of Phoenix. TechCrunch reported that the two transportation companies ended their almost three-year relationship in that city in May.
Waymo will still be offering rides with its autonomous vehicle fleet in Phoenix through its own app. The company has a long history in the city, using its streets as a proving ground before launching public rides in 2020. "After hundreds of thousands of trips with Uber, we have integrated these vehicles back into our Phoenix fleet, where they will continue to serve riders through Waymo, including our public transit integration with Via, and delivery with DoorDash," Waymo told TC.
The bigger change emerging out of this dissolved partnership seems to be on the side of Uber, which has been building its own operations in autonomous vehicles. The company has worked with several different brands, from Avride to WeRide, to offer robotaxi rides around the globe. And now that Uber is involved in making its own autonomous cars thanks to a collaboration with Lucid and Neuro, the business may be looking to replace more of those piecemeal arrangements in favor of using its own designs.